Display package



Oct. 30, 1934. w. MEDOFF DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed June 25, 1931 W INVENTOR H ISATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 30, 1934 PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY PACKAGE William Medofi, New York, N. Y., assignor to National Cellulose Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 25, 1931, Serial No. 546,763

11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in putting up paper-like sheet material, such as cleansing tissues, etc., to display and dispense same.

One of the objects'of the invention is to provide a package of cleansing tissues by which nearly all the tissues will be displayed at one time and every one of all those attractive characteristics upon which the dealer relies for making a sale-such as the tint, the texture, and

the freshness of the goods,wil1 be clearly disclosed and fully visible at first sight, yet in which the sheets, notwithstanding such complete display, will be completely covered and protected from the well-known deteriorating infiuences of moisture, dust, grease, handling, etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package of this improved revealing and displaying nature for a multiplicity of separate sheets in which nevertheless the essentially sep- 30 arate sheets will be so held together,forming a neat compact bundle,that they will be prevented from becoming disarranged or upsetting the package, or damaged, even after the package has been opened or the wrapper has been broken; yet wherein ready access to the sheets and easy removal thereof will not be hindered.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a package comprising sheets of considerable size packed separately and spacedly so as to be readily removable one at a time, yet so folded as to occupy no more room than if packed unfolded and fiat, and by which the mere act of removing the sheet will unfold it into the shape best suited for most efficient use.

My improved package is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective of the finished packa Fig. 2 is a perspective of the package resting in a shipping tray into which it is intended to be fitted upside down;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the package opened and ready for use;

Fig. 4 is a central transverse section of the package in a shipping tray, and

Fig. 5 is a development of one of the elements of the package.

In putting up for display, articles as delicate as the tissues involved in the present invention, not only are the mechanical strength and advantages of the package-important, but since the dealer chiefly relies for a sale on how attractively the tints, shades, and textures of these tissues are displayed, these characteristics must be made clearly and completely visible to the prospective purchaser at first sight. Exposure entirely uncovered is impracticable, however, because articles of this nature deteriorate quite rapidly under the influence of the actinic rays in light when so exposed. To pack such articles in paper or other boxes would keep out the actinic rays, but only because the articles would always be entirely covered by opaque material, thus concealing the above characteristics. Transparent packages employing such materials as glac paper, glassine, waxed paper or the like have not been employed with any success in this art because of the fact that they do not provide perfect and permanent transparency and protection.

In order to disclose and exhibit fully all the attractive characteristics of substantially all the tissues and yet provide a package in which each tissue will be protected completely from deterioration, the present package, asshown in the drawing, comprises an improved cardboard frame or support 1 for the tissues, and an envelope 2. For the envelope2, I employ a substance which, I have found, keeps out moisture, dust, grease, and other foreign matter and w deleterious influences-permanently, yet which is perfectly transparent permanently, making the articles clearly visible at first sight, yet fully protected while on display. Preferably the envelope 2 consists of sheet Cellophane, which, I have found, serves admirably for the purposes recited above, and keeps out moisture and dust very effectively, also the framework 1 consists of a sheet of cardboard or the like cut out into the configuration shown in Fig. 5, and adapted to be folded into a container which exposes as much as possible of each of the tissues, the majority of the stacked tissues being left uncovered and unsurrounded by the box, yet whereby the sheets will be securely supported in compact, durable form nevertheless. The cardboard blank of Fig. 5 is folded on the dotted lines, and the meeting corners united by glue or staples, forming part of the blank into a shallow, open-top parallelepiped or tray 3, the back edge of which is continued to form two resilient straplike members 4. The two strap. members are united and braced transversely near their middles by a wide portion or web 5, left in the cardboard in stamping out the blank, and the continuations of the straps are connected at the front of the. package and longitudinally of the package by a portion 6 of the cardboard, also left in blanking out the article. A member 7 is blanked out on the front edge in forming 1m this frame or container for the bottom members of the stack.

In assembling the package, the sheets are stacked one on top of the other in the lower or tray-like portion, and the portion 6 is tucked down between the front edge of the tray 3 and the pile of sheets. It is then engaged by the tab 7,'thus holding the sheets compactly to gether, even when not wrapped in Cellophane, against forces tending to disrupt the package or disarrange the sheets. The unitary piece of cardboard hence forms the separate sheets into a neat, sturdy unit in which the sheets are positively prevented from becoming disarrayed or damaged as long "as the part 6 is engaged by the tab 7, the long wide web 5 lying fiat on the top of the pile and holding it down to prevent the pile shifting, slipping or canting over to one side, and the tray preventing endwise displacements of the sheets. Upon releasing the tab, the top, due to the resiliency and location of the straps, will usually fly up out of the way, giving ready access to the separate sheets, the tray part alone thereafter satisfactorily preventing major disarrangements of the stack until the top is again closed.

The envelope 2 is'preferably applied in the form of a rectangular sheet which has been cut out of a larger sheet at an angle to or on a bias with the two well-known lines of strength found in sheet Cellophane, these lines runningrespectively parallel to the horizontal and transverse dimensions of the sheet. This so-cut sheet may be incorporated in the package either by being wrapped outside the cardboard frame work containing the tissues, or by being wrapped around the pile of tissues before they are placed in the tray. In either case, the Cellophane sheet is wrapped so that the lines of strength lie parallel to the lines of greatest strain set up in the package by its separate, movable components and parallel to the lines from along which the greatest outside strains are expected,

thus neutralizing, to a large extent, forces tending to disrupt the package. The tab 7 becomes quite important at this point in wrapping the Cellophane, .as the Cellophane is Wrapped but loosely around the tissues, and the tab .then serves to hold the parts securely while it is being loosely around it, so that when the Cellophane shrinks, as is usually the case, the edges of the top of the frame will take the contractive strains instead of their coming onto the soft sheets in the pile of tissues, thus precluding wrinkling of these tissues by such contraction.

To use the package, it is opened preferably by cutting through the Cellophane around three of the edges at the top of the tray, along the lines indicated in Fig. 3, exposing the topmost sheets. The sheets preferably consist of rectangular pieces of cleansing tissue, which in their original unfolded condition are somewhat elongated in the direction at right angles to the greatest length of the tray. Before being packed, however, each sheet is folded in oblate'd S-shape, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4, and the sheets are stacked one on top of the other with one of the bights of the S of each sheet lying uppermost, where it can be readily grasped when the tab 7 is released and the lid flies back. By merely pulling on the edge of the sheet to get it out of the tray, the various bights of this sheet will unfold in succession against the Cellophane, so that by the time the sheet is entirely out of the tray, it is completely unfolded and ready for immediate use. The rest of the sheets, being separate and unengaged with each other, remain undisturbed and in an orderly arrangement as one after the other is pulled out.

When the user has finished with the package for the time being, and is ready to put the package away, in a dresser-drawer or the like, the strap-member 6 is tucked down inside the front edge of the tray and the tab 7 is bent over around it and down between it and the stack of sheets as shown best in Fig. 1. The two halves" of the Cellophane are then tucked together to put the package back into substantially the same tight condition in which it was when purchased, the tissue sheets receiving practically the same protection.

After the sheets have been removed down and level with the top edges of the tray portion, the frame and the Cellophane top portion may be torn off and discarded, as the top portions will no longer be able to contact with and hold the few remaining sheets; the tray portion alone will serve to hold them and will keep the remaining sheets out of the dust, moisture, etc.

In order to protect the Cellophane binder from being torn or otherwise injured, in preparing for shipping the package may be turned upside down and fitted into a box-half or tray 9, as in Fig. 4, the bottom of tray 3 then forming the top of the shipping container, which may then be wrapped in paper.

Though the drawing shows the presently preferred embodimentof my invention, the invention contemplates many changes within the scope of the sub-joined claims; for example, the web 5 may be made as a plain rectangle, as an ellipse, or in other geometrical forms, and the other structural parts may be similarly modified.

I claim:

1. In a package having. a plurality of cleansing tissues stacked one on top of the other, a tray embracing only the lowermost, horizontal members of the vertical stack, and a member integral with the back of said tray and adapted to come over said tissues to hold said tissues together, and a distinct member on the front edge of the box for positively engaging said first member to hold same down on said tissues.

2. In a package of the class described, a sheet of material having one portion formed into a shallow tray, the rest of the material being formed into a member integral with one side of the tray, said top being divided into a plurality of straps to expose thetissues to full view while holding same together, and a distinct member for engaging positively with said strap-member to hold same down on said tissues.

3. In a package of the class described, a sheet of material having one portion formed into a shallow box, the rest of the material being formed into members constituting a spring-back top for said box, the box having a member on its front edge for engaging with said springback top to hold same closed.

4. A package comprising a plurality of cleansing tissues stacked one on top of the other, a tray embracing the lower members of the stack, a strap member integral with the back of said tray and adapted to engage with the front thereof to hold said tissues together, positive holdingmeans on the front of said trayfor holding said strap in engagement therewith, and a sheet of Cellophane wrapped bundle-wise around said tray and strap-member.

5. In a package of the class described, a shallow, open-top tray, a partial cover therefor attached resiliently thereto, a member on the front edge of the tray, and a member integral with thefront edge of the cover adapted for engagement by said first member to hold the cover down.

, 6. A container for a stack of articles of the class described, including a portion "embracing and supporting the lower part of the stack, leaving the major part of the stack uncovered, a reticulated portion integral with the first portion and extending over the top of the stack from the back edge of said first portion and adapted to be engaged with the front edge of said first portion to hold said stack in place with the minimum of concealment thereof, and means on the front upper edge of said tray for positively hooking in said reticulations to hold said reticulated portion down.

'7. A container for articles of the class described, comprising a sheet of material having one portion folded to form a shallow tray, another portion on the back edge of said tray, said second portion being formed into a reticulated top having resilient edge-members, a web conmeeting said edge-members intermediate their ends, another member extending transversely of the said edge-members at their distal ends, and a member on the front edge of said tray for engaging the resilient top down.

8. A package, comprising web-material, other material enclosing and supporting same and being configured'to expose substantially most of said web-material, a bail-formation on one portion of said enclosure, a hook-formation on another portion thereof for engaging said bailformation to hold it down, and a sheet of still other material enveloping the two first members and leaving same visible while entirely protecting same from entry of foreign matter and detrimental influences.

9. A package, comprising stacked web-material, an enclosure for said web-material, said enclosure having a tray portion and a displaying cover portion integral therewith, the latter being in the majority, a bail-formation on said displaying-portion and a hook-formation on the container portion for engaging said bail to hold it down, and a sheet of transparent, protective material enveloping the first two members.

10. A package comprising a tray-like bottom portion, superposed layers of folded sheet material in said tray-like bottom and extending above the side walls thereof, the outer dimensions of the sheets in folded position approximating the dimensions of the bottom portion, a top portion overlying at least a portion of the top of the material in the tray-like bottom por tion, and strap-like members extending downwardly from the top portion at opposite sides thereof and enclosing a portion of opposite sides of the material in the,tray-like bottom, there being a plurality of said strap-like members at one side of the top portion and the strap members on that side being connected to the tray like bottom portion and acting-as hinges for the top portion.

11. A package comprising a rectangular traylike bottom portion, superposed layers of folded sheet material in said tray-like bottom portion and extending above the side walls thereof, the outer dimensions of the sheets in folded position approximating the dimensions of the bottom portion, a longitudinally extending top portion of less area than the tray-like said top portion overlying a portion of the top of the material in the tray-like bottom portion, and strap-like members extending downwardly from the top portion at opposite sides thereof and enclosing a portion of opposite sides of the material in the tray-like bottom portion, there being a plurality of said strap-like members at one side of the top portion and the strap members at that side being connected to the traylike bottom portion and acting as hinges for the top portion.

WILLIAM MEDOFF. 

